Harper's Letter and real threats to free speech

Amid genuine government efforts to restrict or retaliate against speech--the White House limiting AP access because of objections to its style guide, deputized private thugs removing people from town hall meetings, government stripping funding from universities where researchers focus on certain topics and viewpoints--some have returned to the infamous Harper's letter of 2020. They wonder-facetiously, since we all know the answer--whether the Harpers authors worry that government threats to suppress speech (as opposed to annoyed readers complaining about the authors themselves) threatens "the free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society" or creates a "stifling atmosphere [that] will ultimately harm the most vital causes of our time." Does a promise from the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of the District of Columbia (and nominee for the permanent slot) to "be vigilant in standing up against entities like the AP that refuse to put America first" suggest that "journalists [will be] barred from writing on certain topics" and face "swift and severe retribution" for what they say? Or is that only when it comes from an Oberlin sophomore complaining about these authors rather than the machinery of the United States government.

I do not expect intellectual honesty from Bari Weiss and her fellow travelers (and some of the Harper signatories should have known better, even in 2020). Most do not fear reprisal from this administration and do not care that their critics or ideological opponents will face such retribution:

    "Hey, please be thoughtful in how you write about powerless trans people"--dire threat to free speech.

    "You lose your government funds if you use the word trans person and your ability to access common spaces if you do not describe bodies of the water with out preferred terminology"--no problem.

I think we are witnessing the Converse Cry-Wolf. It is not that these people screamed about threats to free speech for so long that no one believedsthem when they now warn about real threats to free speech. It is that these people do not even recognize, acknowledge, or care about these real threats to free speech.